This book offers the first systematic study of madness and its significance for the poetry of William Blake. Blake's reputation as an artist was long clouded by suspicions of madness. Although the great victory of his modern critics has been to see his work clearly, unobstructed by this prejudice, criticism now runs the risk of vindicating Blake the poet at the expense of understanding certain elements of his poetry.

In Madness and Blake's Myth, Paul Youngquist argues that, in its thematic content and dramatic method, Blake's myth is about madness. From the early lyrics to...

The Time Machine conveys the Time Traveller into the distant future and an extraordinary world. There, stranded on a slowly dying Earth, he discovers two bizarre races: the effete Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks--a haunting portrayal of Darwin's evolutionary theory carried to a terrible conclusion.

The Invisible Man is the fascinating tale of a brash young scientist who,...

Sun Ra said he came from Saturn. Known on earth for his inventive music and extravagant stage shows, he pioneered free-form improvisation in an ensemble setting with the devoted band he called the "Arkestra." Sun Ra took jazz from the inner city to outer space, infusing traditional swing with far-out harmonies, rhythms, and sounds. Described as the father of Afrofuturism, Sun Ra created "space music" as a means of building a better future for American blacks here on earth.

A Pure Solar World: Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism offers a spirited introduction to the life and...